Effects of prenatal alcohol and pair feeding on lipopolysaccharide- induced secretion of TNF-α and corticosterone

Fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) produces profound alterations in immunological and neuroendocrine functions. The present study examined the effects of FAE on the secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and corticosterone following administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in normal (N) adult rats, in adult offspring of dams fed a liquid diet supplemented with ethanol (E), and in pair-fed control offspring (P). LPS-induced TNF-α secretion was not affected by either gender or prenatal treatment. In contrast, LPS-induced corticosterone secretion was significantly greater in female than in male rats, and at 60-min post-LPS was significantly higher in E and P, compared to N females. Ovariectomy significantly inhibited LPS- induced TNF-α secretion in E, but not in P and N, rats and chronic replacement with 17-β-estradiol markedly inherited TNF-α secretion in ovariectomized E and N, but not in P, rats. In contrast, ovariectomy reduced the effects of LPS on corticosterone secretion in all groups, and chronic replacement with 17-β-estradiol reversed this effect. These findings indicate that LPS-induced secretion of corticosterone, but not TNF-α, is affected by prenatal manipulations and by gender. In addition, alterations in the hormonal environment in females modulate LPS-induced corticosterone secretion in all prenatal treatment groups, but differentially influence TNF- α secretion in rats exposed to alcohol, restricted feeding, or normal diets in utero.